Bernabd j



- (No Model.)

B. J. LA MOTHE.

RAILWAY GAR SPRING.

Paftented June 26,1888.

Ill

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Nrrnn STATES BERNARD J. LA MOTHE, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

RAILWAY-CAR SPRiNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 385,061, dated June 26,1.888. Application filed August 3l, 1857. Serial No. 248,346. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, .BERNARD J. LA MOTHE, of the city and State of NewYork, have inl vented an Improvement in Springs for Railway-Cars andother Vehicles, of which vthe following is a specification.

In the construction of springs for railway trucks and cars it is" usualto apply the weight so as to'compress the springs, andhcnce there is aconcussion transmitted to thecar whenever the limit ofthe compression isreached, and the greater the weight placed upon the spring the morerigid it becomes, and there is an increased tendency to injure the axlesand running-gear in consequence of the concussion.

My present improvement relates to the combination, with the vehicle andaxle-bearings, of circular suspension-springs that are renderedelliptical by the weight suspended, and which expand andare contractedby the weight and iu proportion to the load, a heavy weight tending toelongate the ellipse and a less weight allowing the springs to morenearly approximate a circular form.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of a cantruck iittedwith my improved springs. Fig. 2 is a section at theline x x, Fig. l,the springs being in elevation. Fig. 3 is a section at the liney y, Fig.2. Fig. 4 represents my improvement as applied to the sepp aratecar-wheels and their bearings, and Fig.

5 is a cross-section at the line z e.

The spring A is made of a band of steel of suitable length andthickness, wound up into a circle of the desired diameter and number ofconvolutions and the ends of the spring are iirmly secured by a band, 2,passed around the convolutions and the ends bent outwardly or' turnedover, as at 3 3, and these springs are to be applied between theaxle-bearings and the body of the vehicle-such as in a eartruck-betweenthe car bearer and truck un der the proper conditions for the weight tobe taken by suspension on the spring and tend to elongate the circleinto an ellipse. Vth this object in view the rounding bearings 7 and 8are within the spring, and these bearings are so applied upon the truckand the connections to the car that the spring becomes a suspending-linkfor the car.

A convenient way of arranging the bearings 7 and 8 is for the bearing 7to rest upon the tops of the two transom beams D E of the truekframes,and for the truck-bolster F, that is connected to the car by theking-bolt K, to occupy k the space between the transom-beams D and E,and be slotted near its ends to give the nec* essary space for thesprings, and the bearings 8 are placed below the bolster F and rest uponthe innerl surfaces ofthe springs at the bottom parts thereof, so thatthe springs A will sustain the weight bya tension that tends to make thespring A more or less elliptical, and it will be apparent that inconsequence of the weight being sustained by tension the spring can bevery light without the risk of breaking, because there is no leverageagainst the spring and all parts thereof take a corresponding tensilestrain.

If desired, four springs may be applied between the transombeams of thetruck and truck-bolster on the car, there being two springs at oppositesides of the beam near each end, as indicated by dotted linesat H, Figs.l and 3.

In all cases the bearers 7 and 8 should be half-circles, or nearly so,for the interior surfaces of the springs to rest upon, and these are tobe of a size adapted to prevent the spring In Figs. 4 and 5 the springsA and the bean.

ings 7 and8 are shown as applied between the beams D atthedownwardly-projecting bolster F, and they act in the manner beforedescribed; but the beams are placed so as to receive the journal-boxesof the wheels P, such wheels P being between and parallel with the beamsD. In this case the axles of the wheels do notnecessarily pass acrossthe track from one Wheel to the other, but may be short, so that eachwheelhas aseparate axle. The inannerin which my improved spring can beapplied to vehi cles generally will be apparent from the foregoingdescription and drawings.

I am aware that a steel band has been coiled into a circle and used as aspring; but when this has been done the coils have been connected by abolt or similar device passing through holes in the bands, and the metalis weakened thereby, and the greatest strain comes upon the innerconvolution, because it is the shortest. By bending the ends of thespring'outwardly and baekwardly and holding them with a surroundingmetal clip-band the tension'on the spring throughout is rendereduniform, because the steel band is held at its ends only.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, With the ear-truck and theupper and lower bearings, 7 and 8, of u suspensionspring formed of uband of steel rolled up into a circle, with the ends bent outwardly, anda clip-band, 2, surrounding the convolutions, and against theoppositevedges B. J. LA MOTHE.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY, VILLIAM G. MoTT.

